Key Art production for Planet3

As part of the game modules we created for DC-based Planet3, we were asked to create a series of print-res promotional posters to capture the drama of each game.

As part of the game modules we created for DC-based Planet3, we were asked to create a series of print-res promotional posters to capture the drama of each game.

We identified key moments and using in-game Unity 3D assets, composed the scenes and positioned player avatars to maximize composition.

Basic lighting and cubemaps were dropped in to rough in tone and overall mood.

Using a custom script, each layer of the scene was rendered out at a very high resolution for compositing.

Elements were enhanced and reworked for a final overpaint and poster delivery…

…and the process repeated for each additional module.

Climate Module

Volcano Module

Plants Module

August 15, 2014

Scaling the Experience

One of the beautiful things about Unity 3D is its ability to port to multiple platforms. With a “check of a box” *, content can be packaged for deployment across mobile platforms, desktop executables, web browsers, wearable systems, and all the major consoles.

Unity 3D Plus Smart Content, Smart UI and Smart Apps

One of the beautiful things about Unity 3D is its ability to port to multiple platforms. With a “check of a box” *, content can be packaged for deployment across mobile platforms, desktop executables, web browsers, wearable systems, and all the major consoles.

* Ok. Not quite a check of a box, says my developers.

Wrap the content with a smart UI system, however, – one that adjusts not only for aspect ratios but also for device specific control signals – and you have a single stream of content that can be experienced across multiple channels.

Take it a step further and build in a structure that enables client-side apps to pull down only what suits the user experience for that device, and marketers have the ability to deliver responsive, channel-specific experiences to a broad audience from that single set of content.

Benefits include the cost of content creation is amortized across these channels, and built-in continuity for brand messaging no matter how it is accessed.

Example 1 – Automotive Marketing

An automobile manufacturer may develop a very deep content stream containing all options for all vehicle models. If structured correctly, and by utilizing a responsive UI system, apps can be distributed to targeted channels – cross-platform mobile, dealer kiosks, and tradeshow installations. These then automatically present experiences tailored to the platform.

• The mobile experience assumes a more leisurely exploration of the content stream and allows for a deep dive into the full range of vehicles and options.
• A dealer kiosk checks inventory and promotes only what is in stock and only at a mid-level depth to encourage interaction with sales associates.
• A gesture-based tradeshow installation features premium models and engages passersby in quick, attention-getting interactions designed to keep people moving.

And because each pulls from the same content stream, updates to the stream automatically update all channel experiences.

Example 2 – Consumer Packaged Goods Brand Engagement

Cross-channel content utilizing this strategy is not restricted to product presentations. Narrativized content, interactives or storylines, can be deployed in a responsive, content stream system as well.

Created as part of a Starcom pitch, these Keebler concepts illustrate a cross-platform deployment of several interactives designed for a Create-a-Cookie/Share-a-Cookie campaign. Each revolves around ingenious ways the Elves create cookies and includes a global Cookie Counter that tallies all digitally created cookies across all channels.

On mobile platforms, an Elf greets the user, frames the experience with Keebler messaging and challenges the user to create a cookie type of their choice. Each interactive begins with simple cookie creations, for instance moving a helper Elf – holding a large blank cookie – back and forth to catch falling chocolate chips. Once mastered, more elaborate versions of the theme are presented where the user can create an increasing number of cookies at a time.

For Point of Sale (POS) displays, content is more streamlined. The Elf presenter – looks out from the Keebler tree window and waits for a user. A Leap Motion sensor allows swipe gestures for interaction and, in the chocolate chip cookie interactive, controls the movement of the Elf catching chips. When time runs out, the cookie is virtually bagged and the user is prompted to share a cookie with a friend and, then driven to mobile or social channels.

A Magic Mirror/Kinect sensor variation of the POS – for theaters or malls with more floor space – presents an Elf MC that actively tracks and waves to users as they pass. And instead of an Elf holding a blank cookie, the cookie is virtually composited in the user’s own hands. The user must then move back and forth within a certain area to catch virtual chips falling from above.

Larger installations, driven by a combination of Leap Motion, floor and Kinect sensors, spread the interactive content out across multiple windows for broader interaction. Also introduced here is an accountant Elf who is seen counting digital cookies from other channel deployments.

Scaling the Experience

The explosion of digital platforms is opening up many more channels for marketers to reach their audience. To take advantage of this, without breaking the bank, content needs to be designed in a way that effectively scales to different platforms, from mobile to desktop and beyond. Unity 3D gets you half-way there but to truly accomplish this, what’s needed is a careful structuring of the content, a UI that adjusts to the device, and client-side apps that tailor user experience.

May 12, 2014

Pelé Wants to Give You Tickets to the World Cup

The countdown to the World Cup has begun, but not everyone can make the trip to Brazil. Even fewer can kick a winning goal. But if you can flick and swipe, then you might get the chance to do both

The countdown to the World Cup has begun, but not everyone can make the trip to Brazil. Even fewer can kick a winning goal. But if you can flick and swipe, then you might get the chance to do both — with the Pelé: King of Football app, our collaboration with Cosi Productions and One Global, available in the iTunes and Google Play stores. Start playing now because time is running out on your chance to win World Cup tickets, the opportunity to meet Pelé, a tryout with the Oldham Athletic A.F.C. (an actual professional team in England), and more!

In a special event at the Apple store in Soho, Pelé had a Q&A with a few of his adoring fans, while our lead developer on the app, Mike LeGrand, walked everyone through the app’s features. You can watch the event here on iTunes.

Intrigued? Follow in Pelé’s footsteps in career mode and work your way from the backstreets of Brazil all the way up to the grandeur of the World Stage or play in Pelé Blitz and pit yourself against your friends and challenge the world in hourly online competitions. Choose from hundreds of uniform combinations, use special power-ups to help you through tricky levels and watch our exclusively recorded interview footage of Pelé. By the way, you can thank the Baltimore Blast (and motion capture) for helping us get the soccer players’ movements just right.

You earn special tickets just through playing, and these enter you into real world prize draws. What are you waiting for, soccer fans? Let’s hit the field!

Natural User Interface in Mobile AR: SOUR PATCH KIDS – In Sour Vision

Bully! recently launched a new Augmented Reality game for Mondelēz International promoting the “SOUR THEN SWEET” SOUR PATCH KIDS candy and their X-box game WORLD GONE SOUR.

Bully! recently launched a new Augmented Reality game for Mondelēz International promoting the “SOUR THEN SWEET” SOUR PATCH KIDS candy and their X-box game WORLD GONE SOUR.

The game, found on the App Store (here) uses AR image markers (found here and here) to spawn a Bully! created set featuring Dolly Doll, a main boss character from the X-box game. Dolly, controlled by the mischievous Yellow SOUR PATCH KID character, throws anything at hand – toy blocks, doll heads, firetrucks – at the user. The user must dodge the projectiles and, with the help of the Green SOUR PATCH KID character, throw tag-alongs (small SOUR PATCH KIDS) back at Dolly to win.

Beyond being among the first AR advergames, a key differentiator of the game is that the user must actually duck to avoid being hit by virtual projectiles – not just move back and forth with on-screen buttons but physically move his or her body to avoid being hit by the Dolly’s barrage.

This technique, utilizing an operation that comes ‘naturally’ to people as an input to computer interaction, is referred to as a natural user interface (NUI.). This kind of interaction is being actively explored by groups such as but in its infancy with mobile device experiences.

“One of the things we wanted to explore with the SOUR PATCH project was how NUI inputs could be used to add a new dimension to mobile game play – where the user has to move in real space to interact with virtual content – or in the case of SOUR PATCH game, duck the virtual blocks Dolly Doll throws.” said Carlson Bull, Creative Director and founder of Bully! Entertainment.
“As mobile technology progresses we’ll be able to utilize this kind of real-world interaction to create some very interesting engagements.” Says Bob Berkebile, VP of Technology and Innovation. “We can envision a new genre of experiences that seamlessly blends natural inputs and virtual content to dramatically enhance game play, learning and brand activations.”

“The SOUR PATCH game is a step toward this future,” said Bull. “When AR and gesture recognition systems make their way into eye ware, a world of possibilities will open up.”